Suarez, who turns 27 today, replaces veteran and former Cup Series champion Kurt Busch. After piloting the car for the past five seasons, Busch has moved on to Chip Ganassi Racing.

Suarez will have sponsorship support from ARRIS as well as Haas Automation. ARRIS entered NASCAR in 2014 and has been connected to Suarez ever since. Haas Automation is a company founded by SHR co-owner Gene Haas and has been prominently featured on the No. 41 car the last few seasons.

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“This is the best birthday present I could ask for,” Suarez said. “We’ve all seen how competitive Stewart-Haas Racing is — all of their drivers won last year and all of them advanced deep into the playoffs. This is the opportunity every driver wants, and now I have it. I want to deliver for this team, our partners in Haas Automation, ARRIS and Ford and, ultimately, for me. We have everything we need to be successful.”

For Suarez, the 2016 Xfinity Series champion, SHR will be the second organization he’s competed for after moving into the Cup Series in 2017 at Joe Gibbs Racing, where he replaced Carl Edwards.

In 72 career starts, Suarez has 21 top-10 and four top-five finishes. He’s led 75 laps and finished 20th and 21st, respectively, in the point standings the last two seasons.

“In each series Daniel has raced in, he’s advanced quickly from rookie to race winner,” team co-owner Tony Stewart said. “In four years, he went from the K&N Series to the NASCAR Cup Series. In between, he won an Xfinity Series championship, and he did it all while learning a new language and a new culture. He’s dedicated, he’s talented and we’re proud to have him as a key part of our race team.”

Said Haas, “We’re in racing to win and we believe Daniel Suarez can win in the NASCAR Cup Series. “Haas Automation is a global brand and our success is directly attributable to how we’ve leveraged the Haas name in racing. We use motorsports to showcase our latest technology and to attract the best talent in engineering and design. Daniel allows Haas Automation to strengthen its ties to the Mexican community by racing the No. 41 Haas Automation Ford Mustang.”

Kelly Crandall

Kelly has been on the NASCAR beat full-time since 2013, and joined RACER as chief NASCAR writer in 2017. Her work has also appeared in NASCAR.com, the NASCAR Illustrated magazine, and NBC Sports. A corporate communications graduate from Central Penn College, Crandall is a two-time George Cunningham Writer of the Year recipient from the National Motorsports Press Association.